Police investigate dog attack incident at residence in Price

Andy Douros stands near several sheep killed during a dog attack incident May 13. The Price City Police Department investigated the incident and cited the owners of the canines with class B misdemeanors.

Andy Douros was relaxing Tuesday morning when the phone rang. It was a neighbor calling to tell the east Price resident that there were dogs in his sheep pen.

Douros went to grab a shotgun and, when he heard the sound of dogs barking and sheep screaming, he knew some or maybe all of the livestock were dead.

"Over the years, I have had to chase dozens of dogs off from the sheep I have owned and I have even lost some sheep," explained the Price resident. "But this is by far, the worst it has ever been."

After making it outside, Douros indicated that he saw two dogs tearing up sheep in a corral and pasture. When the man approached, the dogs reportedly started to turn on him and the Price resident shot the canines.

"If they had just attacked and eaten one sheep, I would be mad, but I would have chased them off and tried to keep them away," pointed out Douros. "But it appears they would kill one and then just move onto another, sometimes not even finishing them off."

Douros lost eight lambs and 11 ewes in the incident. Several lambs and ewes locked inside a shed were not hurt. He estimated the damage at $1,400.

"I just hate to see these little ones suffer like this,"said Douros as he used the shotgun to put four or five injured sheep out of their misery.

Numerous sheep were scattered around a wooden corral. In the middle of the sheep was a large brown dog with a wound to the head. A smaller dog that Douros had to shoot was in the pasture.

"None of the ones that are alive are salvageable," commented Douros. "It's just a real shame."

The two dogs that allegedly attacked the sheep were mixed breeds, one a Rottweiler cross and the other a Chinese sharpei cross.

The Price City Police Department was called to investigate the incident.The dogs apparently wore collars with old registration tags and police traced the animals to a local citizen.

That evening, the authorities cited the individual with two class B misdemeanor offenses for the dogs attacking the animals, according the Price Chief Aleck Shilaos.